Bioplastics- The hope of the future environment What is biological material? Biomaterials are the collective term for bio-based plastics and biodegradable plastics. (1) Bio-based plastics: plastics derived from renewable resources. Unlike traditional plastics, bio-based polymers are derived from renewable resources such as sugar, starch, vegetable oil, cellulose, etc. The most commonly used raw materials are corn, sugar cane, grain, and wood. (2) Biodegradable plastics: Plastics degraded under the conditions of nature, soil, sand, etc., or biologically via composting conditions, anaerobic digestion, aqueous culture solutions, etc. Plastics are degraded by the action of naturally occurring microorganisms before they are finallybroken down into carbon dioxide, water and mineralized inorganic salts. New biomass plastics are also formed. |